Love on the Lawn - Louise and Michael's Trudder Lodge Wedding

From a stylish bride with bags of personality, to an intimate house party reception, today's real wedding has so much charm I wish I'd been invited! Louise and Michael met through work, fell in love and sealed the deal with a proposal in Central Park (yes, the one in New York!) When it came to planning their wedding, it had to be all about their love and commitment, and it really was. I swooned at the style and welled up at all the sentimental touches, and so will you when you check out the snaps by Ivana Patarcic! So let's take a trip down to Trudder Lodge where it all took place...

First things first, we must find out how this pair got together! If you're a person who likes to keep your feelings under wraps, it's worth putting them out there, just listen to Louise and Michael's story...We met through work. I was based in TG4 advertising and Michael worked in an advertising agency. Therein followed over 4 years of talking, so much talking and joking! It was obvious to both of us, yet unspoken, and neither of us did anything about it. Finally, afteR too much Guinness in J O’Connell’s, drunken confessions were made between us and that was it!

Unlike their long-winded love from afar malarkey at the beginning, Michael sealed the deal with Louise a lot more quickly than their initial get together and why wouldn't he, she's a beaut...Michael had wanted to have one last big trip away before I went back to college so for a Christmas gift he booked a trip to New York for the following March. On our year and a half anniversary Michael proposed in Central Park. Needless to say it went well.

Love Louise's robe, something you should definitely invest in for your bridal prep! Have a look at our post on bridal robes and dressing gowns for inspiration!

Before we find out all about Louise's gorgeous bridal look, we must pause and take a look at how cute these besties are! The laughs started during the bridal prep and didn't stop all day...

Now, I just love Louise's bridal look, the perfect combination of pretty and feminine with a little bit of an edge. Her personal style is strong with her oh so blonde locks in a chignon hairstyle, with a nod to boho with floral hair accessories, red lips (and nails!) and a flick of black eyeliner - very cool. It's her pretty lace detailed wedding dress that pulls the look together along with her mum's pearl ring, that was a gift from her co-workers when she left her first job in the 1970s! Something old and borrowed!

The sun is shining down on this celebration so I think we're going see an outdoor ceremony...But first we better check up on Micheal!

Looking seriously dapper in a 3 piece suit, Michael accessoried with a vintage pocket watch and a beautiful boutonniere from The Garden at Powerscourt.

We had an outdoor ceremony which was just perfect and intimate. There were no chairs for the ceremony, and as a result people huddled around us during the proceedings and actually ran up and hugged us after the vows were exchanged, though still mid-ceremony! We felt bound up with all our guests in sharing this moment and that seemed to magnify how joyous the whole day was.

The pair wanted a short but personal ceremony, they contemplated asking a friend to do it for them but decided that it would be a big ask so went with a celebrant instead, incorporating their family and friends into the ceremony as much as possible... We asked my godmother, Michael's mam and a mutual friend to write their own readings, or as was the case with my godmother, who went off the cuff and sang an old Irish ballad instead, that had people weeping! Writing here gives no honest reflection or justice to those words that were shared at the ceremony by these people, but they were beautiful, funny, loving and generous. We wanted the wedding, and our marriage, to be inclusive of our friends and family. No man (or couple!) is an island.

After the ceremony, the guests, who I might add were rather stylish, enjoyed drinks and canapes on the lush lawns while Louise and Michael sneaked away for a few moments...

These black and white portraits by Ivana are so sweet, can you feel the love, or what?!

While we have swooned over Louise's look, her lovely bridesmaid sparkled on the day too, in a bronze, gold sequin embellished dress from bridesmaid favourite, Coast. An unusual choice but one we are lovin' and if you love it too, you must check out our metallic guest style feature to get your own bit of sparkle!

When it came to picking their venue, Louise and Michael wanted a space that they could take over and have to themselves to create a house party style vibe, so what better than a house, that not so long a go was a family home...We knew that a hotel wedding wouldn't suit us. We didn't want people we didn't know pottering about the place. We had come across a small ad for Trudder Lodge with a teeny photo of the barn and decided to give it a look as it wasn't too far from Dublin. The grounds were beautiful and plush, the house open and antiquated, the marque-cum-courtyard was a perfect spot for a relaxed summer wedding. It felt like a family home (it had been up until not so long ago). It felt like a wedding there would be a house party. Also, the pub in the basement made it impossible to resist!

The pair called on the talents of Natasha Mann from Kildare Kitchen to help them create the day they dreamed of and she made the day run seamlessly, what more could you want...

For wedding favours Louise and Micheal gave whiskey marmalade to the boys and champagne strawberry jam to the girls, both made by Michael's mum, how nice!

The beautiful flowers that decorated the tables were picked from the garden of Trudder Lodge and they added a delicate touch to the table centre pieces.

I'm not normally a sweet tooth but when I read the description of Louise and Michael's cake I quite literally paused to think about how delish it must have been - Three separate yummy tiers, rhubarb crumble, pecan and chocolate tart and apple pie! Made by the gals at Kildare Kitchen, who also did all the catering.

We wanted our wedding to be beautiful, without allowing its significance to hang on centrepieces, colour schemes, salmon or beef or styled themes. We wanted to see this for the wonderful occasion that it was, about committing to each other and celebrating that with our closest people in our lives. That thought formed the bedrock of how we thought about the wedding at every step, meaning we remained childishly giddy throughout and were never consumed by stress…An occasion of unparalleled generosity where you share your marriage, but also pile on the dinner, drinks and dancing!

What advice would you give to couples planning their day? Relax – you’re getting married! It’s going to be just wonderful. Well said Louise!

The pair honeymooned around Ireland by renting a VW camper (thanks to Lazy Days in Wicklow) and drove around Cork and Kerry for a week. Sounds brilliant doesn't it? Huge congratulations to Louise and Michael on their beautiful wedding day. A big Thank You goes to Ivana Patarcic for sharing her work with us at One Fab Day, to see more of Ivana's work pop over to www.ivana-photography.com